A spouse can be a true partner in crime through life’s ups and downs. For a California man, the loss of his partner in crime looped him into the crime world as a way to achieve vengeance for her death.
Robert Elmo Lee, 83, arranged for the murder of Dr. Thomas Shock, a 67-year-old specialist, that had treated his wife Bronnie’s left foot.
Improper treatment resulted in an ingrown toenail and when Dr. Shock wasn’t able to treat the condition, Bronnie had to get her foot partially amputated. Later, Bonnie died at the age of 73 due to the foot infection.
As a result, the doctor was accused of gross negligence by the Medical Board of California and he is a known repeat offender with multiple cases alleging improper care.
Dr. Shock eventually gave up his license and retired from Lodi Podiatry, which he founded in 1985.
Lee wasn’t satisfied with seeing him exit the practice; he wanted the specialist out of this world. Since the senior was too old for the murder job, he hired three hitmen: Christopher Costello, Mallory Stewart, and Raymond Jacquett IV.
Dr. Shock was shot and killed outside his home.
Lee and the hitmen were arrested after Lee’s fingerprints were found on the board documents left at the crime scene near the doctor’s corpse.
All’s fair in love and war. After decades of marriage, this senior was willing to bend a few rules to take revenge for the devastating loss.
He opted for the lonely life in prison as supposed to the nursing home. Lee was found “guilty of first-degree murder in 2022 and sentenced Monday to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”
As for the hitmen, “Jacquett was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2019, Costello was found guilty for his role in 2021 and Stewart pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and a weapons charge in February 2022.”